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St. John's title team wasn't 'built by NIL money'

16 hours ago
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St. John's title team wasn't 'built by NIL money'

“Somebody asked me about Zuby and RJ. You don’t know what you are getting,” Pitino said of the two juniors. “Zuby didn’t even play at Kansas. RJ was a good freshman [at UMass], solid, but you didn’t know what you were getting. So here are two stars, very underpaid. I’m sure they’ll be at [general […]


“Somebody asked me about Zuby and RJ. You don’t know what you are getting,” Pitino said of the two juniors. “Zuby didn’t even play at Kansas. RJ was a good freshman [at UMass], solid, but you didn’t know what you were getting. So here are two stars, very underpaid. I’m sure they’ll be at [general manager] Matt [Abdelmassih’s] window as soon as the season ends, but they’re not going anywhere.

Asked about being “low-paid,” Ejiofor smiled and said: “I appreciate him for that, but, man, I’m the type of person that doesn’t really care about that NIL stuff. All I care about is winning and going there and playing for Johnnies Nation and playing for my teammates. These are the moments that I play for. I play for championships and making history.”

“First of all, I think there’s a lot of misrepresentation about NIL,” the Hall of Fame coach said after the top-seeded Johnnies blasted No. 2 Creighton 82-66 to win their first Big East Tournament title in 25 years. “NIL didn’t get us this team because Zuby [Ejiofor] and RJ [Luis Jr.] are very low-paid players. That’s nonsense about NIL.”

It has three players who make in the mid-six figures and above, although nobody on the roster makes seven figures.

Rick Pitino wanted to set the record straight: St. John’s isn’t the product of a high Name, Image & Likeness payroll.



Rick Pitino is all smiles after St. John's Big East Tournament title-clinching win over Creigton on March 15, 2025.

Rick Pitino is all smiles after St. John’s Big East Tournament title-clinching win over Creigton on March 15, 2025. Brad Penner-Imagn Images

St. John’s, The Post recently reported, has an NIL payroll around million, which is believed to be No. 1 in the Big East.

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